For all things Japan

Japanese Word of the Week: Cat

Cats are the most viewed animals on the internet. And much like the rest of the world, the Japanese seem to have a fascination with cats (there are even cat islands in Japan!). So knowing how to say cat in Japanese can really be a conversation starter.

The Japanese word for cat is Neko.

To pronounce this correctly, let’s first break it down into syllables:

Ne-ko.

As you can see, you have two separate sounds.

The first sound, “ne” sounds similar to ne the English word neck.

The second sound, “ko” is pronounced like co in the English word cone.

(Basically, just add a long “o” sound to the English word “neck”, and you’ll be saying the Japanese word for cat.)

Now put the sounds together and keep repeating the word until you get more comfortable with it. Before you know it, you’ll have it!

NEKO

For more on Japanese kitties, check out this post on the popular Japanese cat-themed game, Neko Atsume.